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Ancient and modern

Meet the Donald Trump of ancient Athens (he won)

Cleon’s violent but very persuasive rhetoric was precisely the kind of thing the Republican establishment now hates

2 April 2016

9:00 AM

2 April 2016

9:00 AM

Why does the Republican party loathe Donald Trump? Because Trump is the ultimate loose cannon, beholden to no one. And even worse, he is popular. What trumpery! Ancient Athenians would have loved him.

With no known political or military experience behind him, Cleon surged into the gap left by the death of Pericles in 429 BC, when Athens was locked in a difficult war against Sparta.

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